Peace Of Mind.

There is a Taoist story of an old farmer who had worked his crops for many years.

One day his horse ran away. Upon hearing the news, his neighbors came to visit. “Such bad luck,” they said sympathetically. “Maybe,” the farmer replied.

The next morning the horse returned, bringing with it three other wild horses. “How wonderful,” the neighbors exclaimed. “Maybe,” replied the old man.

The following day, his son tried to ride one of the untamed horses, was thrown, and broke his leg. The neighbors again came to offer their sympathy on his misfortune. “Maybe,” answered the farmer.

The day after, military officials came to the village to draft young men into the army. Seeing that the son’s leg was broken, they passed him by. The neighbors congratulated the farmer on how well things had turned out. “Maybe,” said the farmer.

This topic for the weekly Friday LBC blog posts, where a few of us write on the same topic, was suggested by me. Two others, Lin and Shackman very likely and some others may be writing too.

I love this Taoist tale! I’ve always taken it to mean that if we leave things alone, and not try to control everything, life usually works for the best. Something (or Someone) bigger than us is overseeing our fate, usually with better results than we could have managed.Still the Lucky Few recently posted..Retirement – The Best Is Yet To Come!

It is extremely difficult to follow the principle. One needs to be very mature. Thank you for the link to your own post on the same story. It was before we got to know each other I think as I have not commented on it!

I know this story and admire the farmer for his acceptance. I, too, have a strong belief in ultimate good. But I do think it is more about acceptance that what we see as bad things do happen, period – and still we have lessons to learn from them. I can come to acceptance but often flop about a bit on the way there.Mother recently posted..I Love You

Yes, very good story. When I read it I recalled the Jewish blessing “Baruch Dayan Haemet”(Blessed is the Judge of Truth) said when something bad happens, like death for instance, meaning that there’s always a good reason behind all things (even those perceived as being bad). Knowing these basic teachings of wisdom is what brings us Peace of Mind, indeed.